Wan'er had not yet arrived, but those people Fan Xian had dispatched from Suzhou began to return one by one. They scattered Fan Xian's venomous seeds throughout Jiangnan, bringing back the good news he needed.

The first to return was Xia Qifei.

Fan Xian did not meet him in the Hua Garden. Because the Hugging Moon Tower was half-collapsed, they could not meet there either. In the end, he chose to come to Xia Ming's mansion in the southern part of the city late at night. Fan Xian had also paid for this garden, but he had only come once with the Third Master and never returned.

Xia Qifei, looking travel-worn, was greatly startled when he saw Fan Xian ascending the steps under the protection of the Tiger Guards. He had originally planned to go to the Hua Garden in the afternoon, but was told to wait at the mansion. He never expected that the Director himself would come.

He respectfully welcomed Fan Xian into the study. These two illegitimate sons did not exchange many pleasantries. Fan Xian was also impatient to show any warmth as a superior and went straight to the point.

Through Xia Qifei's report, Fan Xian's somewhat suspended heart finally settled down. Since taking over the major bids of the Internal Treasury, Xia Qifei had begun, with the help of the Overwatch Council, to mobilize the Jiangnan Water Village's Jianghu brothers to turn to legitimate businesses. However, they were all Jianghu figures after all, and Fan Xian was always worried that this Master Ming VII would not be able to handle things properly.

Tonight, he was truly relieved. It seemed that Xia Qifei indeed had some of the Ming family's old man's genes, and he hadn't missed any of the necessary skills for merchants, such as stocking goods, bills of lading, clearing the way, and bribing officials.

What made Fan Xian most at ease was that Xia Ming's caravan had connected with the Northern Qi people in a small town south of Cangzhou after passing through Jiangbei.

On the Northern Qi side, the little emperor had arranged for Wei Hua, the son of Marquis Changning, to be the leader of the Brocade Guards. Naturally, there would be no safety issues with any goods passing through, but Fan Xian was very curious as to who had personally ventured into Southern Qing territory to receive this first batch of goods.

"It was the Commander himself." Xia Qifei himself seemed somewhat shocked by the meeting.

Fan Xian was also surprised and had another assessment of that Wei Hua in his heart. Being in such a high position, he had the audacity to enter Southern Qing territory. He also felt disdain for the defense forces around Cangzhou.

The Northern Qi Brocade Guards were only responsible for the safety of the northern route. Back then, it was the Northern Qi Empress Dowager and the Eldest Princess who made the deal, and they had been doing it for so many years that they were skilled at it. Now that the little emperor and Fan Xian were doing business, this first transaction naturally had to be more cautious.

"What about our people in the north?" he suddenly said, frowning.

Xia Qifei cautiously glanced at him and took out a letter from his bosom: "This is a letter that Lord Wang asked me to bring back. There is also a gift being brought south."

Fan Xian took the letter and saw that it was indeed Wang Qinian's unique handwriting. He did not take the long box that Xia Qifei handed over, signaled him to put it aside, and shook his head, asking: "That kid Wang Qinian is even more afraid of death than I am, so of course he wouldn't be foolish enough to go south... But we always need someone to follow. Which merchant house is taking over in the north?"

In fact, he knew very well that the Cui family's routes in the north had all been privately swallowed up by him, and the Southern Qing court still thought that the Northern Qi little emperor controlled them... Only a few people in the Fan residence, the Yan family, and Fan Xian's confidants knew about Fan Lao Er secretly managing the northern smuggling routes. The Great Qing Emperor only knew that Fan Lao Er was in the north, but he could not imagine that Fan Xian had the courage to let his young brother oversee such a big matter.

Fan Xian did not intend to tell Xia Qifei about this, so he just asked casually, wanting to hear from his mouth how his brother was doing in the north.

However, unfortunately, Xia Qifei's attention at the time was all focused on that extremely daring Brocade Guard Commander and did not pay much attention to the northern merchant house. However, he had vaguely heard some rumors that the great merchant who was now responsible for handling the Internal Treasury's private goods in the north was extremely mysterious, and ordinary people did not even know whether that big boss was male or female.

Fan Xian smiled, a hint of gratification appearing in his eyes. Si Zhe, that fellow, seemed to have finally learned to be low-key and patient. It was just that Hai Tang was now in Jiangnan, and he and Wang Qinian were mixing things up in the north. The Overwatch Council's Fourth Bureau's secret agent system was not convenient for handling too many things for him. The Northern Qi little emperor would certainly not make things difficult for him for his sake, but... a young man had to maneuver in such a dangerous situation, it was really hard on him.

However, Fan Xian did not intend to send someone to help him, because his rebirth experience clearly told him that every cold edge must come from sharpening. Si Zhe had a talent for business, and it would be a pity if he were not polished by such difficult and complicated means.

After chatting with Xia Qifei for a few more sentences, Fan Xian increasingly appreciated the Jiangnan Water Village leader in front of him, now his subordinate. It seemed that subduing this person in Shazhou was indeed extremely beneficial to his Jiangnan plan.

"Do everything according to the established policy."

Fan Xian said seriously: "Su Wenmao is in the Internal Treasury, and I will leave Deng Ziyue in Suzhou. Deputy Envoy Ma Kai will handle the problem of transferring goods from the Internal Treasury. If you can't sort out the accounts for a while, listen more to the opinions of those old officials."

Those old officials were all experts fished out from the Ministry of Revenue, a great gift from the Minister of Revenue Fan Jian to his son. It was extremely easy for them to make some empty accounts and play some small tricks.

Xia Qifei responded and hesitated, saying: "This is the first time. The northern route can be considered to be opened up... but it won't be able to be hidden for too long."

Fan Xian thought for a while, a hint of cold smile appearing between his brows: "What are you afraid of? The Xin family has been smuggling every year. Who in the world doesn't know that? As long as they don't get caught, what can anyone do to you and me?"

Xia Qifei's heart trembled, and he realized that the Director was indeed extremely bold and full of confidence. However, he was always thinking about another matter in his heart, and a few strange emotions could not help but show on his face.

Fan Xian looked at him and could not help but smile, quietly looking at him and saying: "Are you unwilling about the Ming family's matter?"

Xia Qifei thought for a while. The bits and pieces of the past six months had made him realize that it was best not to have the slightest concealment in front of this young master. He gritted his teeth and mustered his courage to say: "Qingcheng is unwilling."

Fan Xian looked at him with a half-smile: "The Old Madam of the Ming family is already dead."

Xia Qifei was silent. When the Ming Garden was in chaos, he was under orders to go north to deliver goods, so he did not participate in the matter. However, he received the news on the way and had also seen the scene of the Jiangnan people wearing mourning clothes in the end. He could not help but smile miserably and said: "Although she is dead, she still died gloriously."

Fan Xian said softly: "Do you know how the Old Madam of the Ming family died?"

Xia Qifei was stunned and raised his head, looking at Fan Xian, thinking, didn't you help me force her to death? Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind. Considering that the Jiangnan people's hearts were slightly disturbed and then calmed down, and that the Ming Garden was unusually quiet after the funeral, he could not help but think of a terrible possibility.

"Ming Qingda?" he asked in disbelief.

Fan Xian nodded indifferently: "I won't hide this from you. It's a small matter for His Majesty to take over the Ming family, but it is extremely difficult to take over the Ming family smoothly. The current situation is what I have finally planned. Don't you dare to destroy it."

Xia Qifei immediately understood everything. It turned out that Director Fan and Ming Qingda had a secret agreement. He could not help but feel a mixture of emotions in his heart, and he was faintly afraid. Would he... become a useless pawn?

Fan Xian's next words, however, shocked him again.

"If you are unwilling, in fact, I am also unwilling." Fan Xian said with a smile: "The Ming family has six branches, and now you and I can only control two of them. After this incident, Ming Qingda has finally become the true master of the Ming family... But I can no longer act openly... That old fox tricked me, do you think I won't make him pay it back?"

Xia Qifei opened his mouth slightly, a fiery hope flashing in his eyes: "When will we take action?"

"Don't let fanaticism cloud your mind as soon as you mention revenge." Fan Xian seemed to be teaching him a lesson, and also like stating something very great, very distant, his own career.

"The Jiangnan people's ten-thousand-name petition has already been sent to Kyoto, and His Majesty's edict reprimanding me should arrive in two days."

Fan Xian continued: "At this time, I will naturally not take action against Ming Qingda again."

"This subordinate does not understand." Xia Qifei thought of something and said with doubt: "What benefits does Ming Qingda get from doing this? Does he really believe so naively that as long as he bows his head, the Director will give him a way out?"

Fan Xian looked at him appreciatively and said: "It's just delaying time."

"Delaying time?"

"That's right." Fan Xian sighed: "Using his old mother's life to buy a year's time. I once said that your elder brother is even more ruthless than me."

"A year's time?" Xia Qifei said with doubt: "What effect can it have?"

Fan Xian naturally would not tell him about the seemingly stable but extremely dangerous situation in Kyoto, but just smiled coldly and said: "Your elder brother is being humble and enduring, swaying between the two sides, trying not to offend either side, so in the end, he will also die because of his cleverness."

"Because in the final analysis, he has no power."

When Fan Xian said this, he suddenly thought of the three sentences that Ye Liuyun had said to him before slashing the half-collapsed tower with his sword. He could not help but feel a chill in his heart. Could it be that the Great Grandmaster saw further than him and had already seen some dangers that he had not noticed?

After the imperial envoy was assassinated at the Hugging Moon Tower, Xue Qing, the governor of Jiangnan Road, was furious and immediately made a very strong response. All of the Ming Garden's private soldiers were disarmed, and because of the death of the Old Madam of the Ming family, the Jiangnan people's hostility towards Fan Xian was also slightly eliminated because of Fan Xian's injury - people's hearts are such strange things.

In short, the Ming Garden's power was weakened again, and it had already become a lump of dough in Fan Xian's hands, allowing him to knead it as he pleased. However, the current situation in Kyoto and the upcoming imperial decree required him to postpone the date of boiling the dumplings.

"Even if Ming Qingda completely surrenders to me, I will not accept it." The corners of Fan Xian's lips curled up slightly, saying something that made Xia Qifei extremely happy.

Fan Xian said calmly: "I am a very vengeful person. You may not care about those Water Village brothers who were killed in Jiangnan before, but I remember that several of the Sixth Bureau swordsmen I sent to protect you died."

A hint of sadness appeared on Xia Qifei's face.

Fan Xian continued: "Ming Qingda is a smart person, as I said before, so he thought that in the face of huge profits, I should be able to laugh off the deaths of these seemingly ordinary people... However, he is wrong."

He said softly: "The Ming family hired people to kill my people, so I will kill their people. Although it was his mother who did it, the son should pay for the mother's debts... Isn't that very fair?"

Xia Qifei could not help but laugh and respectfully saluted, saying: "What the Director says is extremely fair."

……

……

Fan Xian patted Xia Qifei on the shoulder: "Let's not talk about those boring things for now. In the past six months, you should still learn to manage the northern route well, and at the same time, get along well with the Xiong family in Lingnan, the Sun family in Quanzhou, and others. As for Yang Jimei, you can also associate with him... In the future, you will have to manage such a huge Ming family fortune, so you must handle the relationship with these tycoons well."

Xia Qifei understood the meaning in the Director's words and could not help but tremble slightly, then said: "Thank you, Director, for your success."

"It's still early." Fan Xian said calmly: "But I have already ordered Ming Qingda that you must appear at the Qingli Seventh Year Annual Sacrifice."

After Xia Qifei was greatly surprised, a complex joy surged into his heart. Was this... going to recognize his ancestors and return to his clan? He had been wandering in the Jianghu for so many years, and he could finally return to the Ming Garden!

……

……

Leaving Xia Qifei's residence, Fan Xian was somewhat unimpressed by Xia Qifei's final joy and the tears in his eyes. Was recognizing his ancestors and returning to his clan really that important? He was, after all, a person with two lifetimes of experience. Although he knew how much the people of the world now valued bloodlines and this matter, he still did not quite understand it, and even felt somewhat contemptuous.

Those who gave me life are my parents, and those who raised me are also my parents. If you treat me like a son, I will treat you like my parents. If you treat me like an enemy, I will treat you like an enemy. This is the truth.

——————————————————————————

The second person to return to the Hua Garden in Suzhou surprised Fan Xian somewhat, because at that time, Fan Xian was frowning in his study, wondering whether to bring the box of silver in the main hall with him when he went to Hangzhou to pick up Wan'er, but that box of silver... was a bit too heavy.

Just as he was racking his brains, a shadow appeared in front of his desk, startling him.

"Next time you enter a room, please knock." Fan Xian glanced at the shadow and lowered his head to read the court report again.

The shadow suddenly tilted its head. Inside the all-black clothes, the pale face was exposed, seemingly very interested in Fan Xian. After all, even the Dean treated him like a nephew, but Fan Xian was somewhat different.

"Yun Zhilan has returned to Dongyi City."

Fan Xian raised his head, knowing that this meant that the guerrilla warfare between the Sixth Bureau of the Overwatch Council and the assassins from Dongyi City had finally come to an end after lasting for four months.

When Fan Xian was fighting wits and courage with the enemy in the Internal Treasury's three major workshops, at the bidding conference, in Suzhou City, and in the Ming Garden, another secret front line, those silent killings, was actually an important link that was completely sufficient to reverse the situation, and the war on that front line must be even more bloody and even more terrifying.

He was silent for a moment and said solemnly: "How many brothers in the Council sacrificed themselves?"

"Seventeen." The shadow still had no obvious emotional fluctuations in its voice.

"How many people died in Dongyi City?" This was a topic that Fan Xian was very interested in.

"Seventeen."

"Oh, one for one, it seems we didn't suffer a loss." Although he was saying that they had not suffered a loss, there was still an evil fire flashing in Fan Xian's eyes. He tapped his fingers lightly on the table and said slowly: "Remember this debt firmly, and after some time, we will go and get it back."

The shadow said: "Will you collect it or will I collect it?"

Fan Xian glanced at him and said amusingly: "Can you beat your idiot brother?"

The shadow was not angry either: "I can't beat him, but you can't beat him either."

Fan Xian thought of the power of Ye Liuyun's sword and admitted this fact, saying: "Although I can't beat him, it doesn't mean I can't kill him."

The shadow looked at him, not knowing where this young man's confidence came from, that he dared to say that he could kill a Grandmaster.

The study fell silent.

Fan Xian continued his official business, not even looking at the shadow in front of him.

In the end, the shadow broke the silence himself.

"I heard... Ye Liuyun came?"

Fan Xian glanced at him and asked curiously: "How do you know it was Ye Liuyun?"

"Because Si Gu Jian is still in Dongyi City."

Fan Xian sighed and shook his head, thinking that even a guy like the shadow who only knew how to kill could clearly judge with such a simple logic, what was Ye Liuyun thinking?

"Can't Si Gu Jian secretly sneak out of Dongyi City?" Although Fan Xian thought so in his heart, he still habitually wanted to frame Dongyi City, and was unwilling for such a big rift to appear within the Qing Kingdom.

The shadow was silent for a moment, and then said: "He... has not left the Sword Hut for six years."

……

……

Fan Xian was shocked. He knew the shadow's identity, so of course he believed the other party's judgment and source of information. If this was really the case, this matter was too strange. No wonder the people of Qing Kingdom had framed Si Gu Jian countless times, but Dongyi City had never had any direct response.

Fan Xian suddenly thought of a wonderful possibility.

"You say..." he propped up his chin and asked spiritedly: "Is it possible that your idiot brother has already kicked the bucket?"

"No."

The shadow's words could only be exchanged for a sigh from Fan Xian.

"But it's good as long as he doesn't go out." Fan Xian immediately thought of another good thing and said with a smile: "As long as Si Gu Jian doesn't go out, I won't be afraid of anyone killing me."

The shadow thought for a while and defaulted to this fact, and asked again: "I heard that Ye Liuyun came."

This was the second time that the shadow had said this, and Fan Xian was obviously unwilling to discuss this issue, but he did not expect the other party to be so persistent, and could not help but angrily say: "I also heard that love has returned... Is it Ye Liuyun, does it really matter whether he came or not?"

"It matters." The shadow said with a rare seriousness: "My idol is the Five Great Masters, and the person I want to defeat the most is Si Gu Jian, but if I can fight Lord Ye Liuyun, it would be enough to comfort my life, so... Director, I am jealous of you."

Fan Xian was defeated and said sincerely: "Don't be jealous of me. Next time there is such a good thing, I will definitely leave it to you. As for Ye Liuyun, I can guarantee you that if you fight him, the one who dies... will definitely be you, and you will die very thoroughly."

The shadow was silent, then turned and left, disappearing into the darkness.

Fan Xian suddenly thought of something and said softly to the empty night: "I am going to Hangzhou the day after tomorrow. You follow me."

He was going to Hangzhou to pick up Wan'er, and he didn't know if Hai Tang would follow. For safety's sake, it would be much safer to have the shadow by his side.

……

……

After that night, Fan Xian and Hai Tang returned to their usual interactions, but occasionally between a thought and a glance, there would be some unclear and incomprehensible things. Strangely enough, Hai Tang was as lazy and clear as always, but Fan Xian was somewhat awkward.

Hai Tang's eyes occasionally revealed a smiling expression, which made Fan Xian very annoyed.

However, this fact also made Fan Xian clear that even if he used those dirty methods to spread the rumors, he would not necessarily be able to tie such an maverick woman to his side for a lifetime.

Fan Xian had encouraged Ruo Ruo to travel around, let alone people like Duo Duo.

However, Fan Xian was as selfish as he had always admitted... There were originally few young men in this world who dared to marry and could marry Hai Tang Duo Duo, and now that he had made such a big scandal, who would dare to marry her?

It would be fine if she did not marry for life, as long as she did not marry someone else.

A wicked smile flashed in his eyes, and he tore open the letter sent back by Wang Qinian, quickly scanned it, and could not help but laugh again. It seemed that Lao Wang was very unhappy in Northern Qi. The burden on his body was too heavy, and it was indeed more comfortable to follow him. This letter was asking about the date of return.

Fan Xian understood his emotions. Being in a foreign country did have a sense of loneliness, and once things went wrong, whether it was the Overwatch Council or the court, they might abandon him. This feeling of being abandoned was really uncomfortable.

As he thought about it, he suddenly sighed. Tonight, he first met Xia Qifei, then saw the shadow, including Wang Qinian who was far away in the north. These were all capable officers under his command, and the former two brothers both carried deep blood feuds, and were the smallest people in the big family, wandering around the world, unable to return home.

In fact, wasn't his own background the same?

The gathering of orphans will eventually嗨劈(high burst)起来 (get wild).

……

……

(The first day of the month, seriously asking for monthly votes. Last month was fourth, and there was another 3,000 yuan bonus, all thanks to everyone's voting. Thank you sincerely. This month, I will still seriously ask for monthly votes, but at the end of December, I once told everyone that this year's Spring Festival, our whole family is going back to our hometown for the New Year. We haven't been back for ten years. Not to mention the many things and little time, the key is that my hometown is a small mountain village, and there is really no place to write... I don't have the habit of saving manuscripts, as everyone knows, so I am also thinking about how to deal with it, but in short, I am reporting in advance to ask for leave. The update this month will definitely not be sufficient. As for the monthly votes, if you are willing to vote for me, please vote a few. If you are unwilling to vote, as long as you subscribe and watch, I am also very grateful. Regarding the book reviews, I would like to say a few more words: One, don't use bad language in the discussion, and don't swear, please everyone maintain it. Two, regardless of whether you are male or female, please feel free to scold Fan Xian, because what I wrote is a selfish kid, but please... don't scold me, I am very fragile, hehe, the key is that everyone is adults and should be clear about the relationship between the characters in the book and the author. Three, thank you everyone, please have some tea.)